i'm here, melissa! i finally made my way over. i'm sort of a pre-TR lurker but i will be here reading along. you know what a disney girl i am so it'll be interesting to see the universal side of things. the last time i was there was 1992 so i'm sure it's changed a lot.
Great plans! That's cool how you are planning on visiting so many of the Disney resorts. That is one of my favorite things to do!
Ok I still can't support the fact that you will be spending the day at Universal, eating at the Hard Rock Cafe and spending the night at CityWalk on my birthday while I'll be stuck on crappy Long Island!!!!
Plans look great, visiting the Disney resorts will give you the taste of Disney you need and you're going to have a blast at the Universal parks!
Hiya Mel, how are you feeling? i noticed on your blog a few days ago you werent to good hope you are feeling better now
Your plans sound so good, i wish i was coming along to enjoy the fun but i can relive being in Orlando through your TR
The plans have changed a ridiculous amount of times, but we finally have an itinerary we're all happy with. It's a good mix of everything so I'm excited! So without farther ado... the itinerary.
Day 1 - Friday, July 31
- Leave the house and be on the road by 6:00
- Stop for breakfast at a rest stop in Jersey
- Continue driving down I95
- Stop overnight at the Baymont Inn and Suites in Savannah, GA
- Order in Pizza Hut for dinner (we normally don't like Pizza Hut, but it's quick and we have a gift card!
Day 2 - Saturday, August 1
- Have the free hot breakfast in the hotel
- Check out by 11:00
- Head over to River Street for a few hours of shopping and taking in the sights
- Continue the drive down I95 to Orlando
- Check into the condo, unpack and get settled
- Food shopping for snacks, drinks and breakfast foods at either Publix or Super Target
- Dinner at Chilis since there's a new one 10-minutes from the condo
- Spend the night checking out the pools and relaxing
Day 3 - Sunday, August 2
- Breakfast in the condo
- Go over to Disney's Fort Wilderness since we've never been, and spend some time walking along the nature trails and seeing the resort
- Head over to the Contemporary Resort for some sightseeing and lounging, stopping to play ski ball in their awesome arcade!
- Dinner at PF Changs (we have $75 in gift cards)
- Spend the night relaxing around the condo/resort and taking it easy
Day 4 - Monday, August 3
- Breakfast at Ponderosa to try the buffet (you can't beat it for $3.99!)
- Head over to Disney's Grand Floridian for some sightseeing and lounging
- Go to the Festival Bay Mall for some shopping and walking around
- Dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, the salad bar and health food buffet we tried and loved in 2007
- Spend the night lounging around the condo/resort
Day 5 - Tuesday, August 4
- Breakfast in the condo
- Spend the morning and early afternoon in the pool and lounging around the condo/resort
- Head over to Universal in the afternoon
- Spend some time walking around the Hard Rock Hotel
- Check out the Royal Pacific Resort since it's the only Universal Resort we've yet to see
- Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe
- Spend the night hanging out at CityWalk
Day 6 - Wednesday, August 5
- Breakfast in the condo
- Spend the morning relaxing
- Head to Winter Park in the afternoon to check out the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum
- Spend some time walking around Winter Park before coming back to Kissimmee
- Dinner at Bahama Breeze (we've been wanting to try it for a while, and we now have $75 in gift cards!)
- Spend the night relaxing around the condo/resort
Day 7 - Thursday, August 6
- Get up nice and early for my mom, dad and I to drive over to the airport while my brother sleeps in
- My Aunt Stacy and little cousin Ali arrive from New York at 12:30!
- Head over to the condo for them to relax and unpack
- Ali will probably spend the afternoon going back and forth between the resort's four pools
- In the early evening we'll head over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to walk around and take in the sights
- Have a quick dinner at The Mara
- Spend the night seeing the animals, listening to the African drummers, and sitting around the fire pit
Day 8 - Friday, August 7
- Breakfast in the condo
- Spend the day at Universal Studios, with ET as our first ride since Ali's been wanting to ride it for years!
- Dinner at Finnegan's Bar and Grill
- Stay for the Universal 360 Fireworks and Laser Spectacular
Day 9 - Saturday, August 8
- Food shopping at either Publix or Super Target in the morning to restock the condo for the next week
- Head to the Florida Mall in the early afternoon for some walking around and shopping
- Dinner in the mall at the California Pizza Kitchen (we have $75 in gift cards!)
- Head back to the condo to relax
- Spend the night checking out Disney's Beach Club Resort and walking along the Boardwalk
Day 10 - Sunday, August 9
- Breakfast in the condo
- Spend the day at Islands of Adventure
- Dinner at the Latin Quarter on CityWalk
Day 11 - Monday, August 10
- Breakfast in the condo
- Spend the day at Universal Studios
- Dinner at Lombard's Seafood Grill
Day 12 - Tuesday, August 11
- Breakfast in the condo
- Head to Downtown Disney in the early afternoon for some shopping and walking around
- Late lunch at Earl of Sandwich
- Head back to the condo to relax
- Go over to the Polynesian Resort to park before taking a monorail ride around to see the Grand Floridian and Contemporary, stopping to play some ski ball!
- Head back to the Polynesian to get some snacks and tropical drinks before watching the Electric Water Pageant and Wishes from lounge chairs on the beach
Day 13 - Wednesday, August 12
- Breakfast in the condo
- Spend the day at Islands of Adventure
- Late lunch at Mythos
Day 14 - Thursday, August 13
- Head to Islands of Adventure to spend the early afternoon finishing up our favorite rides and attractions
- Early dinner at Margaritaville
- HEad over to Universal Studios to finish up our favorite rides and attractions
- Spend the night walking around and enjoying CityWalk
Day 15 - Friday, August 14
- Buffet breakfast at Ponderosa
- Head over to the outlet stores for some shopping and walking around
- Go back to the condo for Aunt Stacy and Ali to finish packing and get ready to go
- Head over to the airport at 4:30 for Aunt Stacy and Ali's 6:30 flight back to New York
- Head over to the Chipotle 10 minutes from the condo to pick up a quick dinner after seeing Aunt Stacy and Ali off
- Quick Chipotle dinner in the condo before packing and relaxing for the night
Day 16 - Saturday, August 15
- Be out of the condo and on the road by 6:00 AM
- Spend the entire day driving up I95, stopping for some food at rest stops
- Arrive home by midnight
Whooo what a ride, I can't wait! Any opinions/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!
I will be arriving on July 31 myself. I was trying to find a hotel in the Savannah or Jacksonville....googling Baymont hotel...ooooo I'll also wrote down some of you ideas as well if you don't mine like breakfast at ponderosa (good price), Bahama Breeze (always wanted to try) and watching the electric water parade......Our trip will consist of univeral (RPR) and Disney (POP).
THANKS FOR SHARING
Hi! Thanks for stopping by Are you arriving in Orlando on the 31st or stopping overnight? The Baymont Inn and Suites in Savannah is a great hotel! We always wound up stopping in dumps in random, middle of nowhere towns the first two years we drove. We eventually decided to stop overnight in a bigger city and in a nicer hotel, and this one's great! The rooms are huge and really clean. Hope you have a great trip!
We will be arriving on the 31st. Need a room for the 30th.
I'll have an honorary drink at the Hard Rock for your bday! Do you have anything fun planned?? We still have to plan something out for this summer! Let me know if you have any ideas. Oh and did you see that little "news story" on The Daily Show about Long Island wanted to secede from the rest of NY? It's hilarious!
Hi! I'm feeling OK, still really stuffed up and everything. If you read my blog then you know how I was convinced I was dying of the swine flu all this weekend I really did think so, oy. Thankfully it's just a sinus infection/cold but it still sucks! Hopefully I'll feel better soon, thanks again!!
Good idea!! Have two for me I don't have anything planned yet i keep dropping hints at chris to plan something good for me but we'll see what happens with that LOL
We definitely have to plan something asap! The whole "Guys and Dolls" on broadway thing isnt gonna work because i think its going off. i went to go check ticket prices yesterday and every show said cancelled we'll think of something though! I saw a little something about that clip and that it had 3 like meat head guido morons representing LI...is that what you're talking about?
How close is Baymont from the beach. This will my first visit to the Savannah area.
faith
Glad to read it's nothing to serious, like swine flu though im not suprised you were worried about it, i dont know what its like in the US but over here its still a bit of a big deal and the first person from the UK died from it last week.
Hope you are feeling 100% again real soon.
Yea Guys and Dolls closed this past Sunday, it didn't do well. Maybe we can go walk around the village or something and go eat somewhere. And yea that was the Daily Show clip, it was hilarious! I know you're not like that, but family friends out on Long Island are just like that and that clip cracked me up!
Boooo about Guys and Dolls. Walking around the village and food sounds great. I'd love for you to narrate the city for me since you know it much better than I do LOL
I didn't see that clip but I'll have to go watch it on youtube. I may not be just like that but sometimes when I talk I just realize how strong my accent is so I probably sound a little like them. And I'm sureeeeee I went to high school with TONS of guys like that I'll let you know after I watch it
Melisssssaaaa! How did I just NOW find this new pre-trippie of yours?! I have no idea, but I'm so glad I did!
I'm now on board for the 4th version of this PTR.
Too bad about Guys and Dolls-I couldn't get over Lauren Graham as Adelaide, though.
Okay, I have to ask--if you've already explained, I'm sorry, but I can't remember---how did you get your hands on so many gift cards? What a great deal! The money saved will be worth it so you can truly enjoy the City this summer. I know when I lived there, I couldn't not do all the fun things it offers, something new going on all the time!